In recent weeks, I’ve been asked where the term guerilla health came from. Some have asked, “isn’t that a term from warfare and revolution; what does it have to do with health?” Well, in this day and age, getting and staying healthy can feel like war. Indeed, the term is the diminutive of the Spanish word guerra “war”, or literally “little war. The strategy and tactics of guerrilla warfare involve the use of a small, mobile force competing against a larger, less nimble and, perhaps, a monolithic, more powerful one.

The guerrilla organizes small units of the local population, the people who know the terrain best, who understand the culture and can effectively use the resources available. And then, quite under the radar, he or she can, in partnership with the locals, carry out the mission. My mission? Health.

In the US, there are more than 1 million preventable deaths each year from diseases like breast, lung and colorectal cancer, diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart disease. According to the CDC cigarette smoking alone accounts for an about 443,000 deaths, or nearly 1 of every 5 deaths, each year in the United States. When other preventable deaths are considered, automobile accidents (think seat belts), homicides (think hand guns), vaccine preventable deaths (think shots), HIV/AIDS (think condoms) among others, it doesn’t take much to imagine the mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers who could still be here with their loved ones.

The US is 30th in the world in life expectancy, dead last among developed nations in preventable deaths and we have among the highest chronic disease and obesity rates of any country. So what’s the war? The war is the sorry state of health in our country, perpetuated, in part, by the medical, food, and entertainment industry. This is a war, however, we’ve all participated in creating. We buy fast food, cigarettes, video games and other products that contribute to unhealthy lifestyles. We don’t exercise as we should. And, we look for the miracle pill, device or surgery to “fix” what ever ails us.

We are being sold what we’ve asked for. But now we’re at the point where my children’s generation is on track to have a shorter life expectancy than my generation. It’s time to act. To fight. Who are the guerillas? We are. We know our culture and our communities. We know how to take small opportunities turn them into big changes.

We can all, quietly and without fanfare, press or talk show appearances begin to change our habits. Add more fruits and vegetables (from our local farmer’s markets) to what we consume each day. Forget the Olympic style stuff you see on infomercials. You are not going to burn 800 calories in an hour unless you’re a world class athlete. But you can add one flight of stairs to your routine each day. You can get to know your neighbors and walk around the block. You can get your regular check ups and screenings. Here are common screening guidelines for cancer prevention and detection.

And, you can encourage your family and friends to do the same. The companies that currently sell unhealthy products will sell us whatever we demand. They just need to earn money for their shareholders. Even tobacco companies can sell smoking cessation products. We have the power to change what is available.

So, let’s begin, quietly, like guerilla fighters in the night, to demand healthy products, to eat better, get more exercise, to stop our unhealthy habits. We don’t have to tell anybody what we’re doing. And soon, the US won’t be last in health status among developed countries. And our mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, children and grandchildren will be around to see that.

We live in a country that spends more on healthcare than any other country. Yet, despite the $2 trillion spent on healthcare last year, there are many thousands of Americans who have cancer and who could die because they face real barriers to getting and paying for health insurance, prevention and treatment services and, life-saving information. For these Americans, there is a health equity gap. My role at the American Cancer Society allows me to focus on identifying these barriers and on what needs to be done to remove them.

As part of the American Cancer Society’s goals to eliminate health disparities, we are reaching out to women online to, first, raise awareness about this issue – we recently engaged some of you in a “health equity” conference call (please take a moment to listen to the podcast from the call to learn more about the issue).

Then, we want to equip you all with the information you need to help you do your part in preventing cancer – engaging in physical activity, eating healthy, avoiding tobacco use, and getting recommended cancer screenings. Most importantly, we want to engage you in the fight for health equity in all communities, so that we can all celebrate more birthdays and be around for our families.

Consider the following:

• Only 60 % of women who should get annual mammograms
• Less than half of Americans 50 and over get colorectal cancer screenings
• If you’re significantly overweight or obese you have a much higher risk for developing cancer
• Americans without health insurance are more likely to have their cancer diagnosed late and have lower survival rates than those with insurance

You can listen to a podcast of the recent call I hosted with Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer of the American Cancer Society. Then, we will start to talk about how the issues above can be addressed and how we can prevent thousands of deaths from cancer each year. I am excited to be a guest on this blog, and I’m looking forward to many interesting conversations about health equity. Welcome to the fight!

View the original post on MomsRising.org

So I propose this, I’ll take what they write and translate it into common-woman language and try to get it published in Essence, Redbook, Ladies Home Journal, Oprah, Latina Style, community newspapers, blogs, Facebook, etc. I’m not aware that the uninsured or average insured woman is reading Cancer or the NYT. It’s time we take the issues to the community, clearly and respectfully. That’s health promotion! Here are the ACS guidelines which have not changed: Starting at age 40, women, of average risk, should have a screening mammogram every year.

The Office of Health Disparities of the American Cancer Society is pleased to present its third conference on health disparities, Health Equity: Through the Cancer Lens. This year we move beyond description to action. By combining research and practice and the academy and community, we will focus on what we know works from the perspective of advocacy, community intervention and communication. Our keynote speakers will discuss how we use research to effect change and we’ll hear from members of the community who have actually achieved change in cancer incidence, risk behavior and survivorship. Visit the conference web site at www.TheCancerLens.org.

We will debunk the notion of the hard-to-reach and set our sights on the hardly-reached by looking at how health messaging needs to be crafted and delivered to reach those who need it most. In certain communities, disparities in mammography and colonoscopy have been eliminated. Join us to see how that was achieved and how these practices can be replicated across the US. And, we will hear from leading policy voices on how we can achieve systems change in order to reduce barriers to cancer prevention, treatment and life-saving information.

This year’s conference will have a number of unusual features. We will invite participants to blog about their meeting experience and insights. Our conference website will serve as an opportunity for researchers, practitioners and community members to share best practices and to report on their successes and challenges. We will unveil how the personal narrative and video technology have been used to communicate health messaging and change health behavior. And, this year features a unique collaboration with the National Medical Association. Read more and register. Then meet us in Las Vegas on July 28th to achieve Health Equity: Through the Cancer Lens.